A Different Sound
by Property of Metlink
Summary: When a new mission comes from Starfleet, the crew of the Enterprise have to rely on the expertise of a young Ensign who has been in suspended animation for the last couple of hundred years, though problems may arise with her lack of... hearing
1. Haven't You Heard?

**Summary:** When a new mission comes from Starfleet, the crew of the Enterprise have to rely on the expertise of young Ensign who has been in suspended animation for the last couple of hundred years, though problems may arise with her lack of hearing

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**Chapter 1: Haven't you heard?**

My intercom buzzed and my hand instinctively reached for the button before my mind even processed that someone was calling me. I lifted my eyes from the paper work from a recent experiment I'd been working on, but unfortunately achieving no desirable results, to meet the face of my supervisor. Lieutenant Arthur Walters.  
His warm smile made me smile in return.  
'Hello Walters.'  
'Hi there Kai. I wanted to inform you that your expertise is required for the next mission. You're to report to the bridge in 10 minutes, we will then be informed of the mission at hand in debriefing room 4 at a later time, but first you are to meet with the Captain and the away team. See you soon. Walters out.'  
Even if I had time to reply, I could not have. I sat at my desk, mouth gapping open resembling a fish, slowly putting together what had just been said. I, Kai Ceril, was required for the next mission? Personally? For my expertise. Wow. At least it's not a mistake, Arthur is not the kind of man to make mistakes, though it's always possible. No, no, he said so himself, he used my name. Oh wow, I really got to keep it together, after all, I'm expected on the bridge in less than 10 minutes and I'm expected to perform my duties as per usual, no matter how awestruck I am.

I made my way through the Enterprises corridors, smiling shyly and nodding at fellow crew members, but generally keeping my head down and eyes on the floor, I mean I am still new to this. The ride in the turbolift hardly gives me enough time to collect myself and let wrap my head around the situation.  
'_Keep it together Kai, come on, it's only 1 mission, and it's not like seeing the Captain and his bridge crew is a big deal, everyone does, well almost everyone. I mean the Captain does make a point of trying to know everyone on board, but it must be hard with over 400 of us. Ok so not a big deal. Then why do I feel so nervous? Stop fidgeting with your hands, you don't want them to think you're too scared and can't handle this.'  
_My little pep talks helps a little, at least enough for me to appear calm and collected on the outside.  
The lift jolted to a halt and makes that familiar whoosh sound as it opens to reveal the bridge and it's crew very obviously looking in my direction. I freeze, that is until I see Walters who offers me a smile and nod of encouragement, and holds his arm out for me to step forward.  
'Ahh, here she is. Captain Kirk this is Ensign Kai Ceril.'  
He motions towards the Captain who is standing in front of me grinning, in all his glory. His dirty blonde sun bleached hair styled to look messy yet would have taken time to perfect, his piercing blue eyes staring into me, as if to figure me out, and his bright white teeth.  
'It's a pleasure to meet you. I am glad I can be of service.' I say, yet I did not mean for my voice to be so soft, nor did I mean for my gaze to drop from his eyes from panic. I extend my hand out and he takes it gently, they're warm yet rough, there's something familiar about them, but I can't quite put my finger on it.  
'Like wise Ensign Ceril, we're glad to have someone with your knowledge on board.'  
I take a step back after he has released my hand, almost retreating back to Walters, but I can't help it, he's the only one I know, and seriously, this is quite daunting.  
'Well, I'll introduce you to the rest of the bridge crew here.' Captain Kirk turned his body to the helm, where an Asian man sat. 'That's Hikaru Sulu, our pilot, and next to him is Pavel Chekov, our navigator.'  
The two wave and say hello, though it barely registers for me, but I still wave and respond. The Captain continues to turn before pointing to a gruff, older looking man. 'That's Leonard McCoy, our CMO, and the best CMO in the whole fleet.'  
The Doctor appears pleased with this compliment, but doesn't let pride go to his head as he straightens out and offers a nod. 'He's saved my ass more than once' The Captain leansed in closely to say and smirks.  
'Then we have our communications officer, Nyota Uhura'  
A petite dark skinned woman stands from her post, removing the ear piece from her ear and walking over smiling. Wow this bridge crew sure do like to smile.  
'It's good to see another woman on this away mission, plus I can learn quite a lot from you.' She says and offers her hand. I couldn't help but blush, the Enterprises communications officer, someone who excelled in all her xenolinguistic classes, believes she can learn from me? Interesting.  
'Thank-you, I'm sure I can learn plenty from you too.' The lieutenant took her hand away and went back to her post. I look back over to the Captain who simply rolls his eyes and continues with his introductions.  
'This here is Scotty, the best damn engineer I ever met.' The man has thin hair but a wide smile, and as he tips his head forward, holding his hand near his forehead, as if holding a cap, his lips move fast, but I can only make out bits of what he says. I know the words 'lass, good, meet, this, and exciting ship' are in the sentence, so I can pretty much figure it out, but not to appear rude by responding wrongly I simply smile back at him and nod.  
'And finally Ensign, we have Commander Spock, my First Officer and the Chief Science Officer.'  
My eyes turned to meet the dark brown, almost black eyes of the Commander. I am taken back for a minute, because although I scanned the room briefly, I had not able to focus on the Commanders appearance, namely his distinctly noticeably pointed ears and slanted eyebrows.  
The tall man cocks his head slightly and raises one of his eyebrows.  
'Something wrong Ensign Ceril?' He asks, his lips forming the words perfectly.  
'_Oh shit, I must have been staring, or looking like an idiot for him to ask that. Shit, shit shit!'_  
'No Commander.' I reply as I watch him walk up the two steps to stand next to the Captain. I extend my hand, like I had done to the others that had been close enough when introduced, but from the corner of my eye I see Walters hands move. I quickly jerk my hand back behind me and I can feel my cheeks flush.  
'I am very sorry Commander.' I can feel my voice is quiet again but my eyes are able to stay focused. The eyebrow arches even higher and I can see the Captain has a confused face of his own.  
'Why are you apologising?'  
'I am unfortunately still not familiar with many difference races, and was not aware your species did not like contact due to being touch....telepaths.' I pause and stumble slightly over the words, not because they are new to my vocabulary, but because I have not used them in such a way, I mean until now I was unaware that any being could be such a thing, and I'm not entirely sure I understand what it entails completely anyway.  
'It is quite alright Ensign, if anything I should apologise for seeming rude to declining such a common respectful human gesture.' Before I can reply with anything (though I didn't have anything to say) the Captain cut in.  
'Wait, so you've never met a Vulcan?' I shake my head. 'Well, I guess you have now.' I nod. I really have no idea how to respond to these people, they are beyond my years, well sort of, and have so much more knowledge about the universe as it is than I ever could learn. I turned my attention to the Commander who began to speak.  
'Your pronunciation and ability to communicate is quite remarkable Ensign.'  
My heart fluttered and I could feel my face light up. I could hardly believe that the Commander had just said that to me.  
'Well why wouldn't it be?' The Doctor asks slightly confused, yet smug.  
'I'm deaf Doctor.' I stated simply. His face dropped.

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A/N:

Ok so this be my first published story, not my first written, just the first I've decided to share.  
This came to me while I was at work cause I'm starting a short course for learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language) plus I read a story where Kirk was deaf which was pretty damn and I suggest you read it  
Anyway, please point any mistakes (cause I just know they're there such as my tenses, which I tried to fix as best as possible) and help me make this better :)

Thanks  
-POM

erm yeah. *hides* be gentle with me, it's my first time.  
more will be reveled (if you wish)


	2. An Interesting Accent

'An Interesting Accent'

My eyes went back to the Commander, shining, I knew they were, but I didn't care. It was such a compliment, well for me anyway.  
'Thank-you Commander, it truly means a lot.'  
'Wait, wait! Hold up! I must have missed the debriefing. You mean to tell me this language expert, is deaf? Not only that, she's a child!'  
Of course I could not tell how loud the Doctor was yelling, but it appeared his voice was indeed raised, but he was not talking to me, he was facing the Captain, as he walked towards him, his arms wailing around, and in my direction too.  
'You didn't miss the debriefing Bones, that's where we were heading, after we met with the Ensign.' The Captain simply smiled, but the Doctor still appeared confused, almost angry.  
I turned to Walters, my hands moving fast and sloppy, I knew that but I also knew he'd still understand what I was saying. He shook his head.  
'Don't worry Kai, it's fine.' He said, he always did prefer to speak than to sign. I turned back nervously to the three men who stood in front of me, though more like towering over me, this really didn't make me feel any better, even if Arthur said so.  
'What's wrong, what did she say?' The Captain looked past me to Walters, almost worried. I didn't turn around to see his reply, I didn't need to, and he'd just be repeating what I'd signed to him. 'Ensign Ceril, please don't think this is a mistake, we really do need you for this mission, the reason will obviously become clear in the briefing, and just ignore Dr McCoy, he's just like that.' One of his blue eyes gave me a wink, but the Doctor crossed his arms.  
'Cause someone needs to be 'like that' around here. We all know you ain't the most sensible person, so excuse me for being a little defensive about sending a kid on the away mission.' Again his hands were in the air waving about to emphasis his point. It was frustrating to not hear the emotions in their voices, and although I'd developed a very good habit of picking them easily, it made a conversation that much easier when you could hear and convey emotion.  
'I'm not a kid.' I tried to sound as defensive as I could, but it most likely came out monotone, though my eyebrows furrowed to show him that I did not like being called a 'kid.' The Doctor looked me up and down, yes I was aware that I was short, and my appearance may be that of a young person, but I was certainly no kid.  
'Look, no offence, but you certainly look like one to me, I mean you'd be no older than 19.'  
'True, but I am in fact over 200 years old, granted I have not exactly lived all of those years, never the less; I was born a long time before you. Besides, if you're such a good Medical Officer, how did you not picked up on me being deaf?' I raised both my eyebrows at him but before he could give me an answer, Kirks head flew backwards, and I could tell he was laughing, but my attention was then drawn elsewhere.  
Arthur gave me a stern look, almost disappointed, almost. The frustration that had been building disappeared, only to be replaced by guilt and shame.  
It was the first time I had ever met the Captain of the Enterprise and his bridge crew and I had already tried to pick a fight with his CMO. This was really not off to a good start.  
I apologised to Arthur, and explained to him how I was finding it difficult meeting these people for the first time without my battery, and that the Doctor was quite rude. Arthurs eyes softened and he let out a small laugh.  
'_I am aware Kai, perhaps he will understand after the briefing.'  
'He'd better; I didn't defrost just to be judged by some country doctor.'  
_ I watched Arthur converse with the Captain, the Commander and the Doctor, but I did not pay attention, I didn't want to. This would have been so much easier with my battery, but stupid me in my frenzy forgot it; I can only hope I have time before the briefing. A hand on my shoulder brought my head up.  
'Go get your battery and meet us in briefing room 4 Kai.' I nodded before facing the bridge crew. The Captain motioned his head towards the turbolift, and with that, I spun around and left.

Despite still feeling frustrated and actually angry towards the Doctor, I also felt embarrassed with myself. How could I have let myself go like that? I mean I was with the Captain, and that was the CMO, they are my superiors, I have no right to say those kinds of things to them. Do I? I remember being told it would be difficult to adjust, I just didn't realise until now just how hard. I thought going to the Academy and being with Arthur on the Enterprise would allow me to simply conduct research and let me get better acquainted in the world I now live in and see how vastly different it is from the one I came from. But it wasn't as though the Doctor understood that, then again why would he, and if he wasn't even aware that I was deaf, then he certainly wouldn't be aware of how I came to be here. I tried to calm myself, taking a few deep breaths, before grabbing my battery and slipping the plug into my head near the back of my left ear. As soon as I flicked that switch a surge of electricity ran through my body but only for a second before I could suddenly hear all the noises made by the ship. That was one good thing about being deaf, not having to hear the ship live and breathe, not having to listen to others walk down a hall or hear them mindlessly chatting in a rec room.  
I made my way to briefing room 4 where I found the Captain and the Commander. On instinct I took a step back, again overwhelmed by their tall looming presence.  
'You're quite...jittery aren't you Ceril?' This apparently amused the Captain as he smiled at me, but it was friendly causing me to become more at ease.  
'I'm sorry, if that's a problem for the mission, I will understand you not needing me, it's fine, I mean I...'  
'Whoa there.' He interrupted my rambling. 'That won't be necessary, and it won't be a problem, you'll soon be more relaxed, trust me. We actually just wanted to talk to you quickly before the briefing, we told McCoy to bug off and Lieutenant Walters is gathering some extra information about the mission.' Ok now that didn't help to relax me.  
'Oh. Of course Captain.'  
'The Captain and I would like to know the capacity to which you are able to communicate. Of course on the bridge we have established you are well trained in reading lips as well as speaking verbally yourself, but we would like to know your restrictions.' The Commanders voice, finally with emotion, actually more like devoid of emotion. No wonder his lips formed his words perfectly, his voice monotone, like my own is so often. It was quite an easy question at least.  
'Well, I can read lips for the English language as well as Japanese, though my verbal Japanese is not very good, and I admit a difficulty to understand your Chief Engineer, while I am aware he speaks English, some of his words are not pronounced in a way I can understand, but if I'd had my battery at the time I would have heard him just fine.' The Captain and Commander shared a look before returning to me.  
'Yeah you mention this battery back on the bridge, what is it?'  
'It would be best for you to ask Lieutenant Walters that question as I'm slightly confused to about its nature; all I know is how to use it. Watch.' I reached for the back of my head to the left side; I flicked the switch, found the small box and removed the plug from my head.  
'Hold on, where does that part go?' The Captain asked as he bent down to inspect the piece of gadgetry more closely, yet cautiously, pointing to the adaptor on the end. I grinned. 'Watch closely Captain.' I spun around so that my back was now face the Captain and Commander, my hands reaching around my head and pulling back the long dark brown hair that would obstruct their view. I then took the battery in my hand, guided the adaptor to the metal hole near the back of my ear and gently pushed it in, flicked the switched and suddenly heard gagging.  
'Oh my goodness!' I turned back around to see the Captain bent over with his hand around his mouth, his face pale and almost green.  
'I am so sorry Captain, I didn't mean to offend.' I gasped at the site of the Captain practically dry retching. I really was screwing things up today.  
The Commander placed a hand on the back of the Captain, to this I raised an eyebrow, but he either didn't notice or didn't care.  
'You have not offended; the Captain simply has a weak stomach for medical procedures of any kind.' Finally Captain Kirk hauled himself straight again, putting his hand on the Commanders shoulder.  
'I should have warned you. I'm sorry.' He offered a weak smile, but still appeared ill.  
'Nah that's alright, I mean I did ask after all, I just didn't think it would actually go in your he...' He covered his mouth again and could not finish his sentence. The Commanders hands were again clasped behind his back, but I noticed the Captains fingers delicately and lightly brush over the skin near the blue tunic and almost immediately his face regained colour. As fast as his recovery, his hand pulled away and he straightened out his golden shirt, just in time too. The door opened to reveal Arthur, the Doctor, Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant Uhura and the Engineer Scotty.  
'Ah, good ta see you again lass, ya sure ruffled the feathers of our Doctor here.' His loud friendly voice booming, as he nudged an unamused Dr McCoy in the side before striding over to take a seat at the table.  
'You are Scottish.' It was not a question, merely a statement of my findings.  
'Aye, that I am lass.' He grinned at me.  
'Sorry, I could not quite tell back on the bridge, accents don't exactly come through when lip reading.'  
'That's fine lass, now Captain, the mission?' Captain Kirk turned and sat in his own seat follow by Spock, and the rest of the crew present, quickly I sat by Arthur, not wanting to be near the Doctor, who had not met my gaze since entering the room.  
'Very well, it's another simple diplomatic mission, in which we are to beam down to the planet Nei Balso, and convince them to join the Federation. Of course we are all aware many things can go wrong on a simple mission such as this, but the important thing is Ensign Ceril. The Balsos that inhabit the planet are without voice boxes, therefore cannot speak, I mean they do have voice boxes but they don't work anymore. They originated from Earth and have developed into a silent race, as they found not talking to be peaceful. Attempts have been made to communicate with these people, but so far the Federation just keeps hitting a brick wall. There are other ways to communicate with the Balsos, but they find it highly disrespectful to discuss negotiations via pen and paper and will only agree if we can communicate in their language. Sign language. That is where you come in.'  
The Captains fingers pointed towards me, and in turn caused everyone else to look at me too. I could feel myself becoming more and more nervous.  
'With all due respect Captain, is there no one else in Starfleet who knows SSL? Surely your communications officer would.' I began to fidget with my hands under the table, digging my fingernails into my palm.  
'Lieutenant Uhuras knowledge in SSL is very limited, as are most at the Academy, not to mention, you are familiar with older Earth customs, and have a better chance of communicating with these people than anyone else.' I was starting to feel the responsibility of the mission at hand.  
'Jim you said yourself that even simple missions such as these can have something go wrong, what if something happens down there?' The Doctor spoke up, turning to his left to face the Captain.  
'That's why you're coming down too Bones.' He smiled.  
'Dammit Jim, I haven't dealt with mutes or deaf patients before, there's been no need for it, at all, they don't even allow them to join Starfleet, which brings me to the question of how she's on board the ship.'


	3. A Heartfelt Explanation

to twelvepastnever: thank you for reading :) it was so exciting to know someone read my story *hugs*

to lalaland: thank youuu :D yes more will be revealed about the character, but I don't think Bones will stop being a jerk...yet, besides the reason for his jerkyness (which i think is more like concern and will be revealed later :D

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**Chapter 3: A heartfelt explanation**

'I believe I may be able to answer your question Dr. McCoy, perhaps give you a better understand to the young Ensign.' Arthur spoke up, his voice gentle and calm, immediately relaxing. As much as I enjoy silence, I enjoy Arthurs soothing voice.  
'Yes please do Lieutenant, because either I'm just behind, or we all are but no one is questioning that a 19 year old girl, says she's 200 years old, is deaf and is the key to the next mission.'  
'I understand your confusion Doctor; I best begin with the nature of Kais condition. She was not born deaf, but at age 14, was involved an incident that had her exposed to a noise over 300 decibels, her eardrums simply ruptured. Kai therefore already knew how to speak, and it was only difficult when she learnt new words. Over her teenage years she learnt Sign Language and became excellent at lip reading. During the 21st century, when Kai was born, scientists were attempting to create a permanent cure for deafness, one simple procedure. When Kai was 18 she volunteered for suspended animation, along with several other patients with other diseases, illnesses and disabilities. The scientists responsible for this experiment had proposed to carry out their research and hand it down to new scientists, ensuring their research continued and they never stopped searching for the answers. Their procedure was not carried out, and half their research was lost roughly 100 years after patients were first put in suspended animation. Eventually, a small group of Scientists now known as the Revivir discovered a way to bring the patients into the 23rd century without causing any damage to their bodies. Kai was brought out of her state almost six months ago, and managed to trace her family history to me. She had nowhere else to go, she was new to this world, everything and everyone she ever knew was gone. It was something she knew would happen, but it was still difficult for her to adjust. Kai studied at the Academy for a short while before joining me on the Enterprise. While on board she has been relearning and becoming reacquainted with her new life.'

I could feel tears forming in my eyes, I had not thought about my home in such a long time, hazy memories flashed through my mind as I lowered my head to keep from anybody seeing the few tears I let roll down my cheeks.  
'I am familiar with the Revivirs experiments. Might I enquire as to what happened to the patients after reviving them?' It was the unemotional voice of the Commander.  
'Nothing.' I said. 'We were simply brought into this world and without the cure we'd been promised, the proof of us living was their success and fame. Nothing more. We were experiments then and we're still experiments now.' I wiped away the tears on my face and looked up.  
'But you can hear us now can't you? Isn't that a cure?' I faced Lieutenant Uhura, who looked a little teary herself and just shook my head.  
'No, the battery is not permanent; it can only be used for certain periods of time, hence why I only use it when I meet new people, but since being on the Enterprise my only contact has been Arthur and a few others, so I don't use it very often.'  
'It is merely a temporary means of Kai hearing while we experiment into possibly finding a cure.' He explained  
'This 'battery', how does it work?' Finally the Doctor looked directly at me, intrigued. I assume the medical side of this was quite curious to him, of course he'd only see me as another experiment, just like every other Doctor did.  
'An excellent question Dr McCoy.' Arthur stepped in before I could answer myself, I'm assuming his answer is better than mine, as I would not be inclined as to explain how it work to the so called Doctor. 'It is a simple device and effective in short periods of time. Kai if I may?' He turned his body towards me, holding one hand out and the other pointing to my left ear. Once again I detached the small gadget from my ear and head, watching Kirk as he turned away so he could not see me, and smiled.  
I watched Arthur as he explained the workings of my battery, nothing I did not already know of course, but still it always fascinated me each time to know how far technology has come.  
'The pin here, is inserted into Kais brain, which connects to other various mechanical aids in and near her left ear and brain. This small box compartment that remains on the outside is the power for its operation; it is charged and initiates the mechanics to work, which is why we have called it a battery. When it is put down to basics, this device replicates Kais eardrums allowing her to once again hear.'  
Everyone in the room had their eyes on the small machinery held in the large hands of Arthur.  
'Why is this not permanent? If the Ensign can hear us now, and kept the battery in constantly, wouldn't that be the end of her deafness?' Again the communications officer asked. I don't blame her, it did sound like a cure to me at first.  
'We thought this at the beginning too, to simply leave the battery, but it has some...side effects when left in for long periods of time.' I shuddered at the memory of how we found that out. 'I have here Doctor the blueprints for the battery along with Kais medical file. You will find everything you need to know including the operation she undertook in order to use the battery.' A closed folder was placed on the table and pushed across to Dr McCoy. I found anger building up. I really did not like the fact that out of everyone else I'd met, he was the one to read my file, he would be privy to my life, yet he was the only one who objected to my participation in this mission.  
'If there is any other information you need regarding her condition, you should ask Kai.' I immediately turned to Arthur staring wide eyed at him. His hands moved.  
'_Don't worry, it'll be ok. Besides, he's a Doctor and needs to know as much about you as possible.'_  
I sighed in defeat knowing that he was right, as much as I didn't want to admit it.  
'Well, we won't arrive at Nei Balso for 2 more days, which should give you enough time to prepare, right Bones?' The Captain glanced at his CMO giving him a smile, but the Doctor simply rolled his eyes. 'And Kai, you should also use this time wisely to learn all that you can about the Balsos. A report of past interactions with them has been sent to your quarters, if you have any questions feel free to contact Commander Spock or myself. We will meet again at 1400 hours in 2 days time. Dismissed.' And with that everyone, except the Captain and Commander stood from their chairs and began to exit the room. Arthur stood and looked down at me, handing me the battery, his eyes giving me a look that said 'come on, we've got things to discuss.' It made me nervous, yet I knew I was in no real trouble, I mean come on, Dr McCoy started it anyway. I placed the battery back in its place and flicked the switch, the Captains voices being the first thing I heard.  
'Lieutenant Walters, we'd like to talk to Ensign Ceril a little longer if that's alright.' I faced the Captain a little confused, what more could they want to ask me?  
'Of course Captain. Kai, please see me in my quarters when you are finished.' I merely nodded before he disappeared.

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A/N: Obviously doing a sci fi kind of story gives me the ability to make stuff up, even if it's not totally accurate :) yay for frozen people, like fry in futurama haha

-POM


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Silent friends

I was not nearly as nervous as I was earlier, but I couldn't deny that I still felt butterflies in my stomach when the Captain has requested to speak to me again.  
'You'll have to forgive Dr McCoy, he may seem rough on the outside, but he's really a good guy.' The Captain made a small shrug. 'He just takes some getting used to is all, I mean it's been almost 18 months and Bones and Spock still don't always get along do you?' He turned to the stoic Vulcan man sitting next to him.  
'Indeed Captain.' Was his response.  
'If I may be so bold Captain, I don't have any intention of getting to know the Doctor, in fact, after this mission, I'm most likely going to go back to Earth. I know that I don't belong here, I just didn't realise it as much until the Doctor pointed it out so.' Captain Kirk shared a look with his First Officer, he looked confused, but the Commander only raised an eyebrow. 'Don't try and tell me I do, because even if I wasn't deaf, I'm still from a completely different time, I really don't think I'll ever get used to the world as it is now. The only reason I'm here is because of Arthur, he's the only person I can trust, he's the only one who's helped me. I'm sure he'd accept my decision to leave, after all, he didn't ask to be burdened with me.'  
'Ensign Ceril, while I'm not going to try and argue that you should stay, because, and I'm sure Spock will agree with me here, logic does dictate that you should not be here; I am going to ask you to spend some extra time with the bridge crew. I'd like for you to get to know them better, especially seeing that many of them will be accompanying us on the mission. Come to the mess hall after alpha shift to join us for something to eat. Bring Lieutenant Walters if you want.' I pondered his request for a moment, I would of course like very much to see the bridge crew again, meet some new people, but at the same time, Dr McCoy would be there. 'Don't worry; I'll talk to Bones beforehand.' He added with a wink.  
'I will be there.' I said with a nod as I stood from my chair. As soon as I was out of the briefing room I turned the battery off but left it in, immediately all was silent. I stood at the door for a moment, still, savouring the silence that I've become so used to, letting my eyes close for a moment before I headed to Arthurs quarters. I pushed the button but did not hear the buzzer, nor the sound the door made as it opened to reveal Arthur sitting at his desk reading some papers.  
'Sit down Kai.' He spoke. From the expression on his face I knew he was not angry as such, but I also knew from the way he decided to speak instead of sign, something was wrong. I flicked the battery on, too tired to concentrate.  
'I'm sorry.' I blurted out before he could start.  
'Oh Kai, I know you are, and I know this is still difficult for you, but, well, Dr McCoy is the CMO of the Enterprise, he's the one who can help you should you get injured, and while he would not refuse treating a patient, it would be wise for you to apologise to him. It may do some good to have Dr McCoy aware of your condition, perhaps he may be able to help, you never know Kai.'  
'I realise, but I'm not exactly comfortable with him reading my file, he'll know everything. He'd be the only person besides you to know that kind of stuff, and since he took an immediate disliking to me, I just don't like it.' I crossed my arms leaning back into the chair.  
'Dealing with your history may be hard Kai, but someone like Dc McCoy or even Commander Spock could offer insight into our research that could aid us. Besides, he is a Doctor; I'm sure none of it will come as that much of a surprise, if anything it will help him understand better.' My eyes wandered around the room before stopping to stare at the ground.  
'I guess so, but it still doesn't make me like him.' I huffed. Arthur let out a chuckle; his eyes were kind like they always were when I looked up. 'The Captain requested I join the bridge crew in the mess hell after the alpha shift, will you come with me?'  
'I'm sorry but I have the Beta shift which starts when the Alpha shift finishes. Maybe you could bring Thunder along?' Although disappointed that Arthur could not come, the suggestion of Thunder made me smile. 'Now go on and find Thunder, there's not much time before the Alpha shift ends and you wouldn't want to be late.' He nodded towards the door and I leapt from the chair, feeling in a much better mood, and set off to find Thunder.

I headed straight for the one place I could always find Thunder; the botany labs. My guess was confirmed when I spoke to Lieutenant Eli as he welcomed me in. I smiled and thanked him, then walked past other Ensigns and Lieutenants, but kept my head down, even after being in the botany labs so often, I was still not familiar with the others who worked with Thunder. I stopped when I spotted the person I was looking for, hunched over a microscope, one hand scribbling notes on the PADD. I stomped my foot on the ground loudly three times and immediately grabbed his attention, his ears perking up, but he did not move but merely put the pencil down and moved away from the microscope. He stood from his desk and repeated my action, the sound his foot made, echoing in the lab. The figure spun around with a wide grin on his face, his dark grey eyes sparkling, his hands placed on his hips.  
'I was starting to wander when I'd see you next Kai.' One of his eyebrows raised and I bared my teeth in a grin slowly walking over to him. 'Was starting to think you might have forgotten about me.' He teased. I made a mock shocked face at him before he opened up his arms and I accepted his hug.  
'I'd never forget about you Thunder.' I mumbled into his blue science shirt, inhaling his scent at the same time and melting against his abnormally warm body. 'Sorry I haven't visited in a while.' I said as I pulled away.  
'Ah that's ok; I've kept myself occupied, with plants and all. But what have you been up to that's kept you so busy that you couldn't even see me?' He teased again and I playfully hit his arm  
'Well, I'm still trying to uncover that research mostly, I got pretty caught up in it actually.'  
'I should have guessed.' Was his response, still smiling down at me.  
'And...' Thunder raised an eyebrow at me.  
'And?'  
'And I've been chosen to be part of the landing party for the next away mission.' His mouth opened wide and he gasped.  
'No way Kai, that's so great! I'm so jealous.'  
'Oh I wouldn't be too jealous. The CMO of the ship doesn't like me.' I strolled over to an empty chair and plonked myself down, watching Thunder as he did the same. 'He's not keen on me because I'm young and deaf. That's like being racist towards deaf people.' I listen to him laugh.  
'I don't think it's racist Kai, he's just concerned. I mean it could very well be dangerous, I mean especially if you were on your own or something, it's not like you can hear the communicators if you don't have your battery.' I rolled my eyes at him.  
'Yeah and that's really going to happen. All that's going to happen is we're going to go down to Nei Balso, I'm going to be the Captains translator, they'll do whatever politics stuff they do and we're coming back. It won't even take a day.'  
'Well even if that's it, I'm still jealous, you getting to explore a new planet, see the flora.'  
'Is that all you ever think about? Plants?'  
'No, I sometimes think about other things.' I shook my head at him and leaned back into the chair, slouching.  
'I actually wanted to ask you something.'  
'And here I was thinking that you stopped by to just see me.' He made a goofy looking smile.  
'The Captain asked for me to join him and the bridge crew after the alpha shift in the mess hall for something to eat. Would you want to come with me?'  
'I don't know Kai, it's not like the Captain invited me.'  
'No it's ok, he'd told me to bring Arthur but he can't come but he did tell me to ask you, so I'm sure it won't a problem. Please?' I put my hands together in front of me, pretending to beg. 'I haven't seen you in a few days anyway, and you know how much I don't like talking to new people.' He sighed but smiled.  
'Of course I'll go with you.'  
'Thanks Thunder, I don't know what I'd do without you.' My face immediately dropped and I had to turn away from Thunder. I suddenly thought of what I'd said to the Captain about going back to Earth, permanently. I had meant it, but I didn't even think about the fact that I'd be leaving him, he meant so much to me now, in such a short time he'd become my best friend, the one I could always talk to no matter what, and I one I loved. A furry feeling underneath my chin broke my train of thought and my face was lifted and turned back to Thunder, his eyes looking back and forth into mine, his tail warm against my face.  
'Kai? What's wrong?' I couldn't bring myself to answer and so I simply broke into tears, and could only think about when I'd first met him.

* * *

A/N: Ok I have no idea what's with all the chapter names. Not kidding, I make them up just before publishing.  
Anyway, please bear with me for the next chapter, it's just a bit of background knowledge, since I also wanted to work with OCs.

Also, although I'd already planned for McCoy to play a main role in the story, I just have to say, I'm not sure if it'll be easier or harder now since I have met Karl Urban *faints* (about 4 times too XP)

Well enjoy  
-POM


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